Okay, so from my own interpretations I've come up with these conclusions as to who represents what in the game...

Dahlia - Cheryl's mother shown in a negative manifestationMichelle - Cheryl's fantasy mother whom she longed forLisa - Repressed guilt, blaming herself for Harry's deathOld couple - Cheryl's idea of the perfect couple where nobody died or got divorced but grew old togetherJohn - Represents Harry as he breaks off his relationship with his wife.

But Cybil confuses me. At times, she seems to be trying to stop Harry (after Lisa dies) which makes me believe she's Cheryl's denial. But other times she seems to be trying to help him and reveal the truth (Harry in the wheel-chair).

She also leads Harry through most of the game. She tells him to go to Levin street, then she drives him to the woods. Then tells him to go into the school. She also rescues him from the lake where he meets Lisa at the hospital. Hmmmm....

Maybe Cybil is Cheryl questioning her delusions? That's only an idea I just had, lol. If we're going by the "every character in Cheryl's fantasy world means something", then I think it sort of fits...Maybe? Not really a theorist, to be honest.

It just seemed that way to me. She's always there, pointing him in some kind of direction to the truth. At first, I thought she was a roadblock, but the more I think on it (and at a friend's point), she moves him to the conclusion.

"Cybil" is probably based off of a police officer in Cheryl's life she associates with uncomfortable truth. Maybe the cop who found Harry's body, or something. Symbolically, she surely represents Cheryl's rational side. The voice she can't suppress that keeps telling her she's lying to herself.

She does, however, act as a roadblock. She drives Harry away from his destination and then leaves him, never returning as long as you wait...

She tells Harry to go places and then STAY PUT (don't the Raw Shocks try and keep him put in the same place?) She tries to arrest Harry...

But she keeps trying to tell him the truth, keeps saving his life, keeps helping him at the same time...Cybil keeps getting cockblocked by Cheryl's imagination, inhibiting her presence and ability to help.

"Cybil" is probably based off of a police officer in Cheryl's life she associates with uncomfortable truth. Maybe the cop who found Harry's body, or something. Symbolically, she surely represents Cheryl's rational side. The voice she can't suppress that keeps telling her she's lying to herself.

If you find the echo photo at the toluca mall, you'll hear a conversation between a hysteric man, panicking about his stabbed friend, and a police officer. The officer sounds a lot like Cybil.

I believe that Cybil is a construct made by Cheryl in her own delusion, representing her rational side, but manipulated somehow by Kauffman in order to find more about Cheryl's past: she drops Harry of in the woods, where we find out that Cheryl was in a lodge there, with an interesting view on her parents. Cybil orders Harry to go to the gym (and that way school) where Harry uncovers more about Cheryl's past in the school (like Mr. Gordon and an implied relationship), ...And ofcourse: "You're not Harry Mason!"

_________________"Grown-ups tell kids there's no such thing as monsters, that the Bogeyman is just make-believe, and there's nothing hiding under their beds, but that's a lie. Because I've seen 'em." - Murphy Pendleton

Have the creative team explicitly stated anywhere that the non-sexualised Cybil design (as well as the voice acting for both) is based on Olivia Benson from 'Law & Order SVU'? Because even if she didn't look like her, the voice resemblance to Mariska Hargitay is uncanny.

I believe that Cybil is a construct made by Cheryl in her own delusion, representing her rational side, but manipulated somehow by Kauffman in order to find more about Cheryl's past: she drops Harry of in the woods, where we find out that Cheryl was in a lodge there, with an interesting view on her parents. Cybil orders Harry to go to the gym (and that way school) where Harry uncovers more about Cheryl's past in the school (like Mr. Gordon and an implied relationship), ...And ofcourse: "You're not Harry Mason!"

Hmmm, interesting. I'm thinking now that Cybil in a way IS Kaufman. Or at least he's manipulated Cybil.

If you think about it, Cybil and Kaufman are present in the same ways. Cybil tells Harry to go to Levin street, Kaufman talks about the happy family home that we find on Levin street. Cybil tells Harry to go to the school, Kaufman talks about the days at school, etc.

At the hospital, Cybil tries to tell Harry the truth, just like Kaufman, but is frozen over as Cheryl suppresses the truth.

Kaufman brings up the idea of guilt where we meet Lisa who dies. After her death we're greeted by Cybil who blames us for Lisa's death. She then tries again to reveal the truth but once again is frozen.

The last time we meet Cybil, she is able to tell Harry the truth just before Kaufman explains the truth to Cheryl.

So it's possible Cybil is Kaufman. As Kaufman is exploring Cheryl's mind, he is using Cybil to actually go inside and guide Harry to the truth.

I don't think Kauffman is Cybil per se; it's not like he can literally interact with her fantasies. He's just listening to, and commenting on, accounts that Cheryl is telling him, which means that even Cybil is something he's being told by Cheryl's narrative. If anything, Cybil is an aggregate; she's Cheryl's rational side, combined with the parts of Kauffman's advances and comments that made it through her inner defenses.

Eh, I doubt it. The story Cheryl creates in her head is full of plotholes, handwaves, poor excuses, stuff like that. I figured it was pretty clear she was making everything up on the spot when being questioned about Harry's existence and why he wasn't here.

Therapy is bringing Cheryl closer to the truth, and there are links between what Kauffman is telling Cheryl and what Cybil is telling Harry. Cybil very well may be her rational side, but I'm thinking now she is being manipulated by Kauffman.

Also, depending on what story you're playing, Cybil says at the end she should've gone with her gut feeling, meaning she always knew the truth.

I very much doubt Cybil is being influenced by Kauffman. Just because they both want to tell Cheryl/Harry the truth doesn't mean they're causally connected. If anything, Cybil is the part of herself going "What he says is true. You need to learn to accept it."

The fact that Cybil has Daddy issues like every other girl Harry meets is a strong indicator. Unless Kauffman was Daddy's Girl too.

"Cybil" is probably based off of a police officer in Cheryl's life she associates with uncomfortable truth. Maybe the cop who found Harry's body, or something. Symbolically, she surely represents Cheryl's rational side. The voice she can't suppress that keeps telling her she's lying to herself.

She does, however, act as a roadblock. She drives Harry away from his destination and then leaves him, never returning as long as you wait...

She tells Harry to go places and then STAY PUT (don't the Raw Shocks try and keep him put in the same place?) She tries to arrest Harry...

But she keeps trying to tell him the truth, keeps saving his life, keeps helping him at the same time...Cybil keeps getting cockblocked by Cheryl's imagination, inhibiting her presence and ability to help.

I like to think that Cybil is the officer that broke the news of Harry's death to Dahlia, which Cheryl probably overheard. Or something like that. Like you said, "uncomfortable truth".

Anyway, about leaving him in the woods like that, was that really a hindrance to Harry's journey? We got to see that Harry and his family spent time at that cabin in order to try to fix their marriage, and then there's all the hints to things that happened in the woods (the "new girl" photo for example). Then, we managed to find Silent Hill's make-out point, where Cheryl's then boyfriend tried to get sex out of her. All of this wouldn't have been experienced if Cybil didn't take him to the middle of no-where, and disappear.

While on the subject of Cybil taking Harry the wrong way, I've noticed that if the player has the car window done slightly, the houses going past suddenly disappear. One moment they're in town, the next, the middle of the forest, with no homes in sight. The distance between the last house and where they stop doesn't seem very far, so a house should be viewable from where the car stopped. I'm not sure if that's just a technical thing, or if it could be another mental roadblock from Cheryl (but then that wouldn't fit, seeing as Harry did learn something while in the woods).

AuraTwilight wrote:

The fact that Cybil has Daddy issues like every other girl Harry meets is a strong indicator. Unless Kauffman was Daddy's Girl too.

You know, I always thought there was something odd about Kauffman...

Anyway, I also think Cybil is the part of Cheryl that wants to accept the truth (we all agree on that), but I think some of her actions are influenced by what Kauffman and Cheryl were discussing during that particular session. Basically, subconsciously Cheryl is thinking of a certain aspect of her life, and Cybil acts accordingly in order to get Harry to where he needs to go.

Yeah, like I said in another thread, since each character is a manifestation from Cheryl's mind, they all have a bit of Cheryl in them. So when Cybil is talking about her father resisting arrest, she may be expressing that part of Cheryl. Same goes when she abandons Harry in the woods or blames him for Lisa's death.

Regardless, you can't doubt that there are similarities in both Cybil and Kaufman. It could be a coincidence that Kaufman and Cybil both point Harry/Cheryl to the same locations and they're both trying to "spell it out" that Harry died in a car crash, but this is Silent Hill and there are no coincidences in these games.

Anyway, about leaving him in the woods like that, was that really a hindrance to Harry's journey? We got to see that Harry and his family spent time at that cabin in order to try to fix their marriage, and then there's all the hints to things that happened in the woods (the "new girl" photo for example). Then, we managed to find Silent Hill's make-out point, where Cheryl's then boyfriend tried to get sex out of her. All of this wouldn't have been experienced if Cybil didn't take him to the middle of no-where, and disappear.

That was only after he basically ditched her. If he followed Cybil's orders, he'd of been waiting indefinitely.

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While on the subject of Cybil taking Harry the wrong way, I've noticed that if the player has the car window done slightly, the houses going past suddenly disappear. One moment they're in town, the next, the middle of the forest, with no homes in sight. The distance between the last house and where they stop doesn't seem very far, so a house should be viewable from where the car stopped. I'm not sure if that's just a technical thing, or if it could be another mental roadblock from Cheryl (but then that wouldn't fit, seeing as Harry did learn something while in the woods).

I think you're failing to account for the brief timeskip we've given, along with the natural opaqueness of the darkness.

That was only after he basically ditched her. If he followed Cybil's orders, he'd of been waiting indefinitely.

Right, I think Cybil definately changes through the game. When she's talking to Harry in the car ride to the woods you can hear a lot of Cheryl in her dialouge. But as we progress, she's more like Kauffman. She's the only one from Cheryl's mind who seems to figure out what's going on and the only one who seems to hold all the answers.